ment The tiles under her bare feet were still warm from the heat of the day before There was a breeze coming off the sea but it was still pleasant enough to stand outside in her cotton pajamas She watched the moon shimmer on the water and noticed the glow of a white mosque in the distance The odd sound seemed to come from that direction She felt like she was having a bizarre dream Maybe she'd wake up and find herself back in her bedroom in Canada Amanda still couldn't believe she had traveled all that way by herself She had been excited but ner vous to go so far on her own It turned out alright Traveling without her parents was great For one thing she could do whatever she wanted Her par ents were OK but all their rules drove her crazy The people in the airports and on the planes were nice to her and treated her like a grown up The fifteen hour flight didn't even seem that long and had been super COO An Arab boy returning home to Dubai had turned off his headphones long enough to tell her to call the United Arab Emirates either the UAE or Emirates otherwise she would sound like a dork No one he reported no one called it the United Arab Emirates unless they were fresh off a boat or airplane in this case Before she left Calgary Amanda wasn't sure what to expect and was surprised to find that the country was so beautiful Not beautiful in a pretty sort of way but beautiful in an awesome sort of way From the very start she knew she had come to a fascinating
place Amanda was so tired when her Uncle Ben picked her up in his Jeep Cherokee from the Dubai Airport but she didn't dare fall asleep in case she missed something She noticed the barren scenery of sand and rocks as they sped along the modern highway interrupted occasionally with a splash of green date palm groves or whitewashed buildings Every so often a magnificent mosque would rise up out of the landscape the crescent moon topped minarets reached far into the cloudless sky The mosques looked even more amazing and mysterious than the pictures she had seen on the internet It was all so unreal like she had disappeared into a book Even though she fought to stay awake her eyes closed and her mind drifted to scenes of Aladdin from the sto ries she had read when she was little You wanted to see a camel Amanda Well look over here said her uncle as he gestured out his window Her eyes popped open and there he was her first camel sauntering along the side of the road without a care in the world He looked friendly and sleepy She wanted to get out of the jeep put her arms around him and give him a big hug I can arrange it if you'd like to ride a camel said her uncle with a grin That is if you're not scared Scared No way said Amanda as she thought about what her friends back home would say The most they could hope for this summer was a ride on
a dude ranch pony Uncle Ben stopped for gas at what looked like a regular Texaco gas station except the writing on the sign was in the fluid lines of Arabic A young man came over to the jeep She recognized the long flow ing white dishdasha and a white ghutra headdress tied in place with a black twisted rope from her internet research He looked like he had stepped out of a sto rvbook or the bible He held out his hand and asked Where are you from His brown eyes were warm and friendly Canada she said and shook his outstretched With a generous smile he said I am Ali welcome to my country My name is Amanda She smiled back happy to have made her first Arabian friend The colour of the sand changed from creamy white to mocha to rust as they drove north toward the jagged mountains in the distance Uncle Ben explained that there were many different colours of sand in the Emirates Amanda could feel her head bobble again even though she fought to stay awake Soon they were dri ving alongside water that was so blue and clear it seemed like a post card The blazing sun's rays bounced off the water leaving a haze of
Is this the Persian Gulf Amanda knew that if she talked it would help her stay awake Yes it is said her uncle And if you were to take a boat and head straight across that way he pointed you would land on the shores of the ancient land of Persia Now of course the country is called Iran'd much rather go by flying carpet Amanda laughed as she imagined a ride with Aladdin in search of ancient hidden treasures left behind by Alexander the Great That ride will be a little more difficult to arrange replied her uncle pretending to be serious But I'll see what I can do The foamy surf casually rolled over the fine undis turbed sand Amanda wondered why there were no people on the miles and miles of lonely spotless beaches Young school children lined up outside a school as they drove past The children wore school uniforms similar to the kids back home The teachers wore the traditional long black overdress called an abaya Some covered their face with a sheer veil oth ers with a burqa face mask that left only their eyes showing and some did not cover their face at all The sun shone the water glistened the people smiled and waved and little goats ran across the road as she traveled across unfamiliar territory What a totally amazing place I have come to thought Aman da as she finally dozed
